Washington DC, January 18, 2017 – AARP is pleased to announce the advisory board and emcees for its sixth Innovation@50+ LivePitch event which will be held Wednesday April 12 and Thursday April 13, 2017, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. This dual-pitch event is the only one of its kind, bringing together innovative startups pitching before expert judges along with intended end users. Lisa Suennen of GE Ventures and Jennifer Simpson of the Aspen Institute will serve as emcees for the event. AARP also announced today the list of 30 healthcare and financial technology industry experts who comprise the advisory board for this event and will help guide the companies competing at it. Applications are now being accepted for startup companies interested in pitching and registration is also open at limited early bird pricing of $99.00 for two full days of content. To apply or to register, please visit www.innovation50plus.org.

AARP’s Innovation@50+ LivePitch event is a two day pitch competition for emerging startups in health technology, highlighting caregiving solutions, and financial technology, focused on savings and planning. Ten finalist companies in each sector will present their business plans on stage in a rapid three minute presentation to a panel of industry expert judges, most of whom are venture capitalists and angel investors.

By facilitating the event, AARP seeks to serve its mission of improving the lives of all as they age. Representing nearly 38 million members, the power of AARP takes this pitch event up a notch. Innovation@50+ LivePitch is unique since it features AARP members who listen to the pitches and share feedback in real time, providing the companies invaluable market data on the spot.

“Each year, an even more talented pool of people come together to make our event better and better,” said Jody Holtzman, Senior Vice President, Market Innovation, AARP. “This year, our two emcees raise the bar again, and will lead each day with passion and expertise. I’m appreciative and humbled that we have 30 of the industry’s best committed to being part of our advisory board.”

About the Innovation@50+ LivePitch Emcees:

Lisa Suennen, Senior Managing Director, GE Ventures, is a healthcare technology expert and leads GE Ventures’ healthcare investment program. Lisa also writes the Venture Valkyrie blog, co-hosts the Tech Tonics podcast and is the co-founder of CSweetener, a women’s healthcare executive mentoring program. Lisa serves on the boards of Evidation Health, the Dignity Health Foundation, Health XL and Heart-to-Heart International. She is an advisor to Qualcomm Life, the CHCF Innovation Fund, the American Heart Association Innovation Think Tank and NASA’s Translational Research Institute. She is an Aspen Institute Health Innovation Fellow and has spent nearly 30 years in healthcare as an investor and operating executive. Lisa has been part of all of the AARP Innovation@50+ LivePitch events.

Jennifer Simpson, Managing Director, Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship, has worked in the finance field for much of her career, including private equity and debt investing at The Gladstone Companies where she also served on the boards of middle market companies. She held senior leadership roles in leveraged lending and credit at National City Bank and worked on debt arrangement at Morgenthaler Partners. She co-founded the Washington, DC chapter of Women in Venture Equity. Jennifer began her career as a platoon leader in the U.S. Army’s Medical Service Corp. She will be the first emcee of the new financial technology day of the AARP Innovation@50+ LivePitch event.

About the Innovation@50+ LivePitch Advisory Board:

The 2017 AARP Innovation@50+ LivePitch advisory board includes over 30 industry experts, thought leaders and investors, including many of the top tech incubators and accelerators that assist in recruiting startups companies to apply for the LivePitch event and will help support those selected.

Previous AARP Innovation@50+ LivePitch events have been held in Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Miami, and last year’s event in Sunnyvale, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley. Of the first 45 finalists, 23 raised over $145 million in venture investment, and another four companies exited through acquisition. Applications are open for companies to apply to be considered to pitch beginning now through Friday, February 10, 2017, at www.innovation50plus.org.

Additional information, including the 2017 sponsors, judges and coaches, as well as programming content and speakers, will be shared on the site as well. The 10 finalists in healthcare technology and 10 finalists in financial technology will be announced in advance of the event.

Press are invited to attend the 6th AARP Innovation@50+ LivePitch event gratis and may register by contacting Laura Beck, laurabeck@adeointeractive.com. Representatives from AARP and past winners and finalists are also available for interviews.

The AARP Innovation @50+ LivePitch event is produced with support by Adeo InterActive.